he set an ambitious goal for breaking america's reliance on foreign oil. white house correspondent savannah guthrie at the white house tonight with more on this. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the president said today we americans have kind of a familiar pattern. we go from shock when prices go up at the pump to a trance when they go back down, never solving the underlying problems. like many presidents before him, he vowed today to change that. >> the president of the united states. >> reporter: under pressure with gas prices at home surging and unrest in the middle east spreading, president obama today outlined his plan to wean america off foreign oil. >> and we will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we finally get serious about a long-term policy for a secure, affordable energy future. >> reporter: the president's goal, cut oil imports by a third over ten years, by reducing u.s. consumption, greater use of clean energy, biofuels and natural gas, and by boosting oil and gas production here at home. the pr